Carlos Cortés takes office this Wednesday as President of the Order of Physicians, having already pledged to be “implacable to any outside interference” and threats to his independence.
For the new CEO, “strong order is the strength of doctors.”
On February 16, a clinical pathologist was elected President of Physicians with 61.94% of the votes out of a total of 11,176 votes in a runoff election contested by physician Ruy Nunez, who received 6,867 votes.
On the day of his election, Carlos Cortes assured in a statement that his powers would be dedicated to doctors and patients.
“At this difficult moment that we are going through, I will demand that the central role of doctors in the health system be recognized and appreciated without exception. I will be an intervention leader in this sector – and in particular in the National Health Service. I will be the voice of all doctors for the dignity of the profession, for the improvement of their working conditions, for the recognition and safety of the Medicine Law and for the quality of medical care in Portugal,” he said at the time.
Elected for the period 2023/2025, Carlos Cortes replaces the urologist Miguel Guimarães, who led the Order of Physicians for six years after serving two terms.
“Together for health” was the motto of the candidature of Carlos Cortés, who was President of the Regional Branch of the Center of the Order of Physicians in a previous mandate, in which he proposed to lead the order “autonomous, independent and always intervening, which is not complacent or submissive” and ensures that it will be ” unifying and close” President.
The new president argued in his candidacy that “the defense of the autonomy and independence of the Order of Physicians is of fundamental importance.”
“This is an uncompromising role, as it is necessary to beware of possible interference from various forces, and political power in particular,” he said, emphasizing that “medicine does not play with individualism, exclusivism or any form of group intolerance.”
For the new president, “health improvement is done by a team that brings the people together.”
“The example of this pandemic was paradigmatic. We solved it together,” said the new chairman, who takes office today, at a ceremony at the Patio da Gale in Lisbon, which was attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.